Individuals and styling salons often use hair curling irons as a standard part of the hair dressing art. Often, however, the stylist will activate the curling iron only to later discover that the iron has become hot enough to burn the table top or other surface upon which it may be resting. Cautious individuals will sometimes hold the iron during heating and cooling cycles, causing inconvenience and limitation of their activities.
In an attempt to solve this common problem, others have provided holders of varying design and construction for use with hair curling irons and the like. Examples of such devices may be seen with reference to the following: U.S. Pat. No. Des. 243,559 to Hoyle et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,145 to Oliveri; U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,878 to Silva; U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,019 to Baird et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,649 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 329,304 to Tipp; and, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 332,670 to McFarland.
Some of these prior art holders have tended to be large or bulky, and sometimes inconvenient to store. Other prior art holders have been difficult to transport, whether from room to room or when packed in luggage for a trip. Others do not conveniently accommodate the variety of sizes and designs of curling irons that are currently available to the stylist.
Furthermore, several of the prior art devices do not provide adequate air ventilation or heat sink capacity to enable the iron to cool rapidly following its use. Additionally, the enclosed nature of some prior art devices may tend to trap hair, dust, and other debris, which can then become dangerous when placed adjacent the hot curling iron.
It is readily apparent that an improved hair curling iron holder is needed to overcome the drawbacks apparent in the prior art, and to render more safe and convenient the use of the hair curling iron implement. It is, therefore, to the provision of such an improved hair curling iron holder that the present invention is directed.
Accordingly, the several objectives of the present invention are:
to provide a hair curling iron holder that is lightweight and small enough to conveniently transport or store; PA1 to provide a hair curling iron holder that may act as an insulated heat sink and that is sufficiently open to the air in order to enable appropriate cooling of the curling iron; PA1 to provide a hair curling iron holder that deters injurious casual contact from a user; PA1 to provide a hair curling iron holder that may be mounted in a horizontal or vertical configuration; PA1 to provide a hair curling iron holder that will accommodate a wide variety of sizes, weights, and designs of curling irons; PA1 to provide a hair curling iron holder that which will not trap hair, dust, or other debris; and, PA1 to provide a hair curling iron holder that is economical to manufacture, heat resistant, and simple in its design.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the drawings and to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment presented herein.